Changes to the Historic District Design Guidelines are here!

If you have questions about the update please call the Downtown & Historic Planner at (512) 930-3581, email historic@georgetown.org or visit the Planning Department at 809 Martin Luther King Jr. Street, across from City Hall.

City Council voted to approve the changes to the Historic District Design Guidelines in their meeting on July 27, 2021. The changes went into effect on September 1, 2021.

Historic District Design Guidelines Full Document

• Table of Contents
• Preface
• Introduction
• Downtown Map
• Old Town Map
• Historic Districts Map
• Downtown Area 1-Chapter 1 Part 1
• Downtown Area 1-Chapter 1 Part 2
• Downtown Area 2-Chapter 2 Part 1
• Downtown Area 2-Chapter 2 Part 2
• Old Town-Chapter 3 Part 1
• Old Town-Chapter 3 Part 2
• Demolitions & Relocation-Chapter 4
• Signs-Chapter 5
• Appendices

Historic Georgetown

Georgetown is rich in historic resources and offers an outstanding quality of life! As we continue to attract development, we are challenged to protect the character or our historic structures and districts. Preservation of the built environment not only provides a link to the past, but helps maintain the look and feel that make Georgetown so attractive today. 

Interactive Historic Properties Map

Looking for a map of the National Register Historic Districts? Want to see if your property is identified as historic? Looking to purchase property and want to know where the Historic Zoning Overlay Districts are? Click the image of the map above to access the interactive map, and use the layers panel at the right to toggle the map features on and off. You can find out more about a historic property by clicking the red, green and blue dots, and clicking the link to the Historic Resource Survey entry. You can even search for an address using the search bar at the top left corner of the map!

Downtown and Old Town Historic Overlays

Two overlay zoning districts were established by City Council to define areas that have unique development and design standards meant to preserve and retain the historic character of the buildings and neighborhoods located within these overlays. The two overlays are the Downtown Overlay District, which includes the historic downtown and surrounding commercial and residential areas; and the Old Town Overlay District, which includes mostly residential areas between Downtown and Southwestern University and south to parts of 17th, 18th and 19th Streets. Click the links to print or download the historic zoning district maps.

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Historic District Regulations

The historic districts have a special set of rules for changes to historic structures, the construction of new buildings, signs, fences and the demolition or removal or historic structures. To read more about the requirements specific to projects in the historic zoning overlay districts, please see Section 3.13 and Section 4.08 of the Unified Development Code. The Design Guidelines also apply to projects in the historic districts, and provide guidance for project design.

If you are a prospective project applicant within one of our Historic Districts or have any questions, please contact the Downtown & Historic Planner.

You can watch videos of past presentations here!